Sawbelly Brewing wins title of best burger in Exeter contest

EXETER — Sawbelly Brewing has won the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce’s first-ever Burger Bowl contest.

The restaurant was one of 19 eateries competing for public votes to see who makes the best burger in the Exeter area. More than 3,000 votes were cast during the Feb. 10-19 contest.

But what made Sawbelly’s burger stand out the most?

The restaurant entered their classic “sawBELLY burger,” made with smoked pork belly, ground chuck grind from Tuckaway Tavern, smoked cheddar, applewood bacon, house BBQ sauce, chipotle aioli and mesquite crispy onions.

Sawbelly executive chef Brad Wallace said he chose the sawBELLY because it’s the restaurant’s “signature burger.”

“I think people who enjoy coming here were proud enough to vote for it,” Wallace said. “...We tried to keep it simple. A consistent burger that wasn’t too complicated.”

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Sawbelly Brewing sold 203 burgers over the nine-day competition.

“Sales were up, it was our busiest week in probably four months,” said Darren Hatt, general manager of Sawbelly.

Both Hatt and Wallace thanked their staff and the community for the title. The chamber awarded the restaurant a gold trophy, with a giant burger on top, on Friday, Feb. 24.

“I think everybody from the dishwasher on took (the contest) really seriously involving their friends and family, and having them come in and try the burger,” Hatt said.

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Sawbelly Brewing opened at 156 Epping Road in Exeter three years ago, just two months before the start of the pandemic. Hatt said establishing the restaurant at the time was a challenge and took lots of perseverance.

“We’re still building our brand, we’re still building our culture,” he said. “So, this goes a long way to help with that and take it to the next step.”

First-ever Exeter Burger Bowl a success

Restaurants from six different towns competed in the contest including 401 Tavern, Street, Jonny Boston’s International, Lexie’s, Oak House, Popovers at Brickyard Square, Sea Dog Brewing Co., The 101 Grille, The Beach Plum, The Takeout Station, The Trackside Cafe, and Wing Itz.

“The restaurants really did a friendly competition together,” said Renee Weiland, event and program coordinator for the Exeter Chamber of Commerce. “They all joined in and had excitement and buzz!”

Shane Pine, owner of Backyard Burgers in Seabrook, said they enjoyed participating in the contest.

“We had a blast, our customers had a blast doing it, my cooks loved making up a burger to participate in it,” he said.

Jennifer Wheeler, president of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce, said the success of the contest was due to the partnerships of restaurants, their relationships with their customers, and the support of Kennebunk Savings, the event's underwriter.

The contest, she said, will be back next year.

This article was produced as part of The Community Journalism Project and is being shared with partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information on the project visit www.collaborativenh.org/community-journalism-project.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Sawbelly Brewing wins title of best burger in Exeter contest